David Price

The perception was that Price didnít really get going until he was traded to Toronto. But itís tough to say that his Detroit performance was at all lagging: 2.53 ERA, 1.11 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 4.8 K:BB ra...

Price is lined up to start Tuesday and then the final game of the regular season next Sunday, but Boston manager John Farrell acknowledges those plans could change, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

In the surprise move of the 2014 trade deadline, Price was shipped from Tampa to Detroit. In 23 starts for the Rays, Price went 11-8 with a 3.11 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 189 strikeouts and 23 walks in 170.2 innings. He had a couple of rough starts after joining Detroit, but the results were similar. His 271 strikeouts ranked first in the majors and easily eclipsed his previous career high of 218 strikeouts. Priceís fastball no longer sits in the 95-mph range it did earlier in his career, but he has offset that dip by developing one of the more effective cutters in the league. Price will return to the Tigers for at least one more season before hitting free agency. Leaving the pitcher-friendly confines of Tropicana, not to mention Tampaís usual stellar defense, could result in a slight dip in Priceís peripheral stats over the course of a full season, but Detroit will provide more run support than the star southpaw is accustomed to seeing, which will lead to plenty of wins. Entering his age-29 season, Price will be the Tigersí ace and the ace of many fantasy squads.

2014

Coming off the AL Cy Young Award in 2012, expectations could not have been higher for the southpaw Price. While his win total declined from 20 to 10 and he missed over a month of the season with a triceps injury, his overall numbers were about on par with his excellent past few seasons. In just 27 starts, he tied for the lead in the AL with four complete games. Though his strikeout percentage dipped slightly, he took a big step in improving control, with 1.3 BB/9 and a 5.59 K/BB ratio, both tops in the AL. He finished the season with a 10-8 record and 3.33 ERA and he continued his run of dominance over AL East opponents, going 6-3 over 14 starts. Entering the 2014 season at age 28, Price remains one of the top fantasy options on the mound and is the true ace of his pitching staff.

2013

After a small step back in production in 2011, Price flipped the switch in 2012 en route to the AL Cy Young award. Even with a struggling Rays offense, he dominated, going 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA and 205 strikeouts in 31 starts. He also posted a 10-2 record with a 2.51 ERA against AL East opponents, which has been a drain on his value in the past. He has an outstanding fastball that averaged out at 95.5 mph in 2012 and for the first time in his career threw more two-seam than four-seam fastballs. At 27, Price is still just entering the prime years of his career, and he should be drafted as a top starting pitcher in 2013.

2012

Many will point at the loss of seven wins (19 to 12) and the modest raise in ERA (2.72 to 3.49) and think Price had a down season after an outstanding 2010. The truth is overall he improved in many areas when looking past some of the obvious stats. He improved his K/9IP rate slightly while walking almost one fewer batter per 9IP. As far as his skill set he has a lethal, bat-breaking fastball that routinely works in the mid-90s. The fastball is so good he throws it over 70 percent of the time and even when batters know it's coming, they often miss. Price's next best pitch is his slider which has a ton of knee-buckling action and he has a curve and a change-up he can throw in as well. Hope on draft day other owners look at his win and ERA stats and prepare to snag Price once the elite starting pitchers are off the board.

2011

Price turned in one of the league's most dominating pitching performances last season, finishing 19-6 in his second year in the rotation. He had a 2.72 ERA and struck out 188 batters over 208.2 innings. Price finished second to Felix Hernandez in the Cy Young vote, earning four first-place votes. His success last season can be attributed to raising his K/9IP rate by almost one and increasing his average fastball (95.3 mph) by more than two miles per hour. His "out" pitch is a nasty slider that has a lot of late breaking movement, baffling right-handed hitters. Price enters the season as a top-10 pitching option looking to build on last year's success.

2010

Price finished his rookie campaign with mixed results. After starting the season in the minors, he won 10 games for the Rays, but sported a 4.42 ERA and a 1.348 WHIP. On the positive side, he held opposing batters to a .241 average and improved his control as the year went on (1.51 K/BB in the first half, 2.39 in the second half) suggesting an improvement in his numbers should be in line for this year. Despite being a lefty, he was equally effective on both left-handed hitters (.242 BAA) and right-handed batters (.236). Plan on him taking the next step this season once he learns to trust his stuff and cuts down on the walks.

2009

Price had a great season at three levels in the minors for Tampa Bay in 2008, and was a relief star in the postseason; despite that bullpen success, the Rays reiterated over the winter that they had no plans to recast him as a closer. With the trade of Edwin Jackson to Detroit, Price likely begins 2009 as the Rays' fourth starter, barring injury or an awful spring. Given Price's great fastball and his impressive repertoire of other pitches (remember his total dismantling of Jason Varitek in the ninth inning of ALCS Game 7?), he could be very successful with one of baseball's best defensive clubs behind him.

2008

Price had gone 11-0, 2.59 in 17 regular season starts (133 innings) for Vanderbilt before the Rays took him with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. Given that workload, the Rays did not give Price any game action after he signed in August, although he threw a few bullpens in the minors and also saw Instructional League action. Price has everything you want in a pitching prospect: size, velocity, command, a great body, intelligence and confidence. He'll start 2008 at either High-A or Double-A for the Rays; although they won't push to promote him to the bigs this season, if Price shows he's ready, they won't stop him, either.